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| <title>Definitions of terms used to describe Apache |
| directives</title> |
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| <h1 align="CENTER">Terms Used to Describe Apache |
| Directives</h1> |
| |
| <p>Each Apache configuration directive is described using a |
| common format that looks like this:</p> |
| |
| <dl> |
| <dd><a href="#Syntax" rel="Help"><strong>Syntax:</strong></a> |
| <em>directive-name</em> <em>some args</em><br /> |
| <a href="#Default" rel="Help"><strong>Default:</strong></a> |
| <samp><em>directive-name default-value</em></samp><br /> |
| <a href="#Context" rel="Help"><strong>Context:</strong></a> |
| <em>context-list</em><br /> |
| <a href="#Override" |
| rel="Help"><strong>Override:</strong></a> |
| <em>override</em><br /> |
| <a href="#Status" rel="Help"><strong>Status:</strong></a> |
| <em>status</em><br /> |
| <a href="#Module" rel="Help"><strong>Module:</strong></a> |
| <em>module-name</em><br /> |
| <a href="#Compatibility" |
| rel="Help"><strong>Compatibility:</strong></a> |
| <em>compatibility notes</em><br /> |
| <a href="#Deprecated" |
| rel="Help"><strong>Deprecated:</strong></a> <em>see |
| other</em></dd> |
| </dl> |
| |
| <p>Each of the directive's attributes, complete with possible |
| values where possible, are described in this document.</p> |
| |
| <h2>Directive Terms</h2> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li><a href="#Syntax">Syntax</a></li> |
| |
| <li><a href="#Default">Default</a></li> |
| |
| <li><a href="#Context">Context</a></li> |
| |
| <li><a href="#Override">Override</a></li> |
| |
| <li><a href="#Status">Status</a></li> |
| |
| <li><a href="#Module">Module</a></li> |
| |
| <li><a href="#Compatibility">Compatibility</a></li> |
| |
| <li><a href="#Deprecated">Deprecated</a></li> |
| </ul> |
| <hr /> |
| |
| <h2><a id="Syntax" name="Syntax">Syntax</a></h2> |
| |
| <p>This indicates the format of the directive as it would |
| appear in a configuration file. This syntax is extremely |
| directive-specific, and is described in detail in the |
| directive's definition. Generally, the directive name is |
| followed by a series of one or more space-separated arguments. |
| If an argument contains a space, the argument must be enclosed |
| in double quotes. Optional arguments are enclosed in square |
| brackets. Where an argument can take on more than one possible |
| value, the possible values are separated by vertical bars "|". |
| Literal text is presented in the default font, while |
| argument-types for which substitution is necessary are |
| <em>emphasized</em>. Directives which can take a variable |
| number of arguments will end in "..." indicating that the last |
| argument is repeated.</p> |
| |
| <p>Directives use a great number of different argument types. A |
| few common ones are defined below.</p> |
| |
| <dl> |
| <dt><em>URL</em></dt> |
| |
| <dd>A complete Uniform Resource Locator including a scheme, |
| hostname, and optional pathname as in |
| <code>http://www.example.com/path/to/file.html</code></dd> |
| |
| <dt><em>URL-path</em></dt> |
| |
| <dd>The part of a <em>url</em> which follows the scheme and |
| hostname as in <code>/path/to/file.html</code>. The |
| <em>url-path</em> represents a web-view of a resource, as |
| opposed to a file-system view.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><em>file-path</em></dt> |
| |
| <dd>The path to a file in the local file-system beginning |
| with the root directory as in |
| <code>/usr/local/apache/htdocs/path/to/file.html</code>. |
| Unless otherwise specified, a <em>file-path</em> which does |
| not begin with a slash will be treated as relative to the <a |
| href="core.html#serverroot">ServerRoot</a>.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><em>directory-path</em></dt> |
| |
| <dd>The path to a directory in the local file-system |
| beginning with the root directory as in |
| <code>/usr/local/apache/htdocs/path/to/</code>.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><em>filename</em></dt> |
| |
| <dd>The name of a file with no accompanying path information |
| as in <code>file.html</code>.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><em>regex</em></dt> |
| |
| <dd>A regular expression, which is a way of describing a |
| pattern to match in text. The directive definition will |
| specify what the <em>regex</em> is matching against.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><em>extension</em></dt> |
| |
| <dd>In general, this is the part of the <em>filename</em> |
| which follows the last dot. However, Apache recognizes |
| multiple filename extensions, so if a <em>filename</em> |
| contains more than one dot, each dot-separated part of the |
| filename following the first dot is an <em>extension</em>. |
| For example, the <em>filename</em> <code>file.html.en</code> |
| contains two extensions: <code>.html</code> and |
| <code>.en</code>. For Apache directives, you may specify |
| <em>extension</em>s with or without the leading dot. In |
| addition, <em>extension</em>s are not case sensitive.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><em>MIME-type</em></dt> |
| |
| <dd>A method of describing the format of a file which |
| consists of a major format type and a minor format type, |
| separated by a slash as in <code>text/html</code>.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><em>env-variable</em></dt> |
| |
| <dd>The name of an <a href="../env.html">environment |
| variable</a> defined in the Apache configuration process. |
| Note this is not necessarily the same as an operating system |
| environment variable. See the <a |
| href="../env.html">environment variable documentation</a> for |
| more details.</dd> |
| </dl> |
| <hr /> |
| |
| <h2><a id="Default" name="Default">Default</a></h2> |
| |
| <p>If the directive has a default value (<em>i.e.</em>, if you |
| omit it from your configuration entirely, the Apache Web server |
| will behave as though you set it to a particular value), it is |
| described here. If there is no default value, this section |
| should say "<em>None</em>". Note that the default listed here |
| is not necessarily the same as the value the directive takes in |
| the default httpd.conf distributed with the server.</p> |
| <hr /> |
| |
| <h2><a id="Context" name="Context">Context</a></h2> |
| |
| <p>This indicates where in the server's configuration files the |
| directive is legal. It's a comma-separated list of one or more |
| of the following values:</p> |
| |
| <dl> |
| <dt><strong>server config</strong></dt> |
| |
| <dd>This means that the directive may be used in the server |
| configuration files (<em>e.g.</em>, <samp>httpd.conf</samp>, |
| <samp>srm.conf</samp>, and <samp>access.conf</samp>), but |
| <strong>not</strong> within any |
| <samp><VirtualHost></samp> or <Directory> |
| containers. It is not allowed in <samp>.htaccess</samp> files |
| at all.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><strong>virtual host</strong></dt> |
| |
| <dd>This context means that the directive may appear inside |
| <samp><VirtualHost></samp> containers in the server |
| configuration files.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><strong>directory</strong></dt> |
| |
| <dd>A directive marked as being valid in this context may be |
| used inside <samp><Directory></samp>, |
| <samp><Location></samp>, and <samp><Files></samp> |
| containers in the server configuration files, subject to the |
| restrictions outlined in <a href="../sections.html">How |
| Directory, Location and Files sections work</a>.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><strong>.htaccess</strong></dt> |
| |
| <dd>If a directive is valid in this context, it means that it |
| can appear inside <em>per</em>-directory |
| <samp>.htaccess</samp> files. It may not be processed, though |
| depending upon the <a href="#Override" |
| rel="Help">overrides</a> currently active.</dd> |
| </dl> |
| |
| <p>The directive is <em>only</em> allowed within the designated |
| context; if you try to use it elsewhere, you'll get a |
| configuration error that will either prevent the server from |
| handling requests in that context correctly, or will keep the |
| server from operating at all -- <em>i.e.</em>, the server won't |
| even start.</p> |
| |
| <p>The valid locations for the directive are actually the |
| result of a Boolean OR of all of the listed contexts. In other |
| words, a directive that is marked as being valid in |
| "<samp>server config, .htaccess</samp>" can be used in the |
| <samp>httpd.conf</samp> file and in <samp>.htaccess</samp> |
| files, but not within any <Directory> or |
| <VirtualHost> containers.</p> |
| <hr /> |
| |
| <h2><a id="Override" name="Override">Override</a></h2> |
| |
| <p>This directive attribute indicates which configuration |
| override must be active in order for the directive to be |
| processed when it appears in a <samp>.htaccess</samp> file. If |
| the directive's <a href="#Context" rel="Help">context</a> |
| doesn't permit it to appear in <samp>.htaccess</samp> files, |
| this attribute should say "<em>Not applicable</em>".</p> |
| |
| <p>Overrides are activated by the <a |
| href="core.html#allowoverride" |
| rel="Help"><samp>AllowOverride</samp></a> directive, and apply |
| to a particular scope (such as a directory) and all |
| descendants, unless further modified by other |
| <samp>AllowOverride</samp> directives at lower levels. The |
| documentation for that directive also lists the possible |
| override names available.</p> |
| <hr /> |
| |
| <h2><a id="Status" name="Status">Status</a></h2> |
| |
| <p>This indicates how tightly bound into the Apache Web server |
| the directive is; in other words, you may need to recompile the |
| server with an enhanced set of modules in order to gain access |
| to the directive and its functionality. Possible values for |
| this attribute are:</p> |
| |
| <dl> |
| <dt><strong>Core</strong></dt> |
| |
| <dd>If a directive is listed as having "Core" status, that |
| means it is part of the innermost portions of the Apache Web |
| server, and is always available.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><strong>MPM</strong></dt> |
| |
| <dd>A directive labeled as having "MPM" status is provided by |
| a <a href="../mpm.html">Multi-Processing Module</a>. This |
| type of directive will be available if and only if you are |
| using one of the MPMs listed on the <a |
| href="#Module">Module</a> line of the directive |
| definition.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><strong>Base</strong></dt> |
| |
| <dd>A directive labeled as having "Base" status is supported |
| by one of the standard Apache modules which is compiled into |
| the server by default, and is therefore normally available |
| unless you've taken steps to remove the module from your |
| configuration.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><strong>Extension</strong></dt> |
| |
| <dd>A directive with "Extension" status is provided by one of |
| the modules included with the Apache server kit, but the |
| module isn't normally compiled into the server. To enable the |
| directive and its functionality, you will need to change the |
| server build configuration files and re-compile Apache.</dd> |
| |
| <dt><strong>Experimental</strong></dt> |
| |
| <dd>"Experimental" status indicates that the directive is |
| available as part of the Apache kit, but you're on your own |
| if you try to use it. The directive is being documented for |
| completeness, and is not necessarily supported. The module |
| which provides the directive may or may not be compiled in by |
| default; check the top of the page which describes the |
| directive and its module to see if it remarks on the |
| availability.</dd> |
| </dl> |
| <hr /> |
| |
| <h2><a id="Module" name="Module">Module</a></h2> |
| |
| <p>This quite simply lists the name of the source module which |
| defines the directive.</p> |
| <hr /> |
| |
| <h2><a id="Compatibility" |
| name="Compatibility">Compatibility</a></h2> |
| |
| <p>If the directive wasn't part of the original Apache version |
| 1 distribution, the version in which it was introduced should |
| be listed here. If the directive has the same name as one from |
| the NCSA HTTPd server, any inconsistencies in behavior between |
| the two should also be mentioned. Otherwise, this attribute |
| should say "<em>No compatibility issues.</em>"</p> |
| <hr /> |
| |
| <h2><a id="Deprecated" name="Deprecated">Deprecated</a></h2> |
| |
| <p>If this directive is eliminated since the Apache version 1 |
| distribution, the directive or option that replaces the |
| behavior should be cited here. In general, directives, |
| features, and options are only deprecated to minimize debugging |
| of conflicting features, or if the feature can only continue to |
| be supported in an alternate manner.</p> |
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